By Wade Keller, Torch editor

The following is an encore presentation of Ask the Torch from Mar. 24, 2003...

Anthony Ortiz of Birmingham, Ala. writes: What's going on with Scott Steiner? He hasn't been on WWE TV since he lost to Booker T on Raw a few weeks ago. Has he already been let go by WWE because it looks like he won't have a match at this year's WrestleMania. It really makes you think all the hype was for nothing.

WK: It's pretty amazing that with all the hype Steiner got before his WWE debut that he has been completely abandoned so quickly. I'm not sure if he'll get thrown into a match at WrestleMania or not, but it certainly won't be a major match. With Kurt Angle out for a year after WrestleMania and with Steve Austin back in the mix, WWE could use Steiner as a heel on either roster to shore up the lack of roster depth a little. However, WWE management doesn't have faith in Steiner's reliability or durability. In the ring, he is very limited. Behind the mic, he's okay, but hasn't gotten over with WWE fans who quickly recognized his limitations physically at this point in his career. Since Steiner is signed for more than a year, I think WWE will still attempt to figure out how to best utilize him, which may be in a tag team situation where he can limit what he does in the ring.

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Bruce Allen asks: Prior to his return at this year's Royal Rumble, there was a lot of speculation that the Undertaker would be returning as the "old" Undertaker. I was disappointed when he returned as the American Bad Ass. Was there ever really a plan for the "original" Undertaker to return, and if so, why was the plan scrapped?

WK: I don't believe there was ever any plan to bring Taker back under his old gimmick after all. It was just a mistake by the WWE marketing machine to create the impression when in reality they were merely trying to build anticipation for his return by showing all of his previous looks. It ended up raising the hopes of fans who look back fondly on his "Dead Man" gimmick and aren't quite as enthralled with his leather biker "Bad Ass" gimmick.

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Garnet asks: With Randy Orton and Batista injured, what are the plans for when they return? I haven't noticed any mention of the injuries on WWE television.

WK: Orton has opted to attempt to recover from his broken foot without surgery, he could return in 3-6 months rather than 6-12 months as would have been the case if he had surgery. Batista had surgery, but should also be ready to return in 3-6 months. Rather than make a big issue out of their injuries, WWE decided to focus on Triple H's match against Booker T and just step away from the Evolution hype briefly. I suspect Orton and Batista will be right back in the mix as TV personalities before they are ready to return to the ring, and that they'll still be used as two members of Evolution.

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Paul Johnson of Sheffield, U.K. writes: Why do some wrestlers (normally heels), leave the arena floor by walking back by the side of the ramp and out back, instead of up the ramp. It normally happened when someone does a run in and then leaves. I have been wondering about this for years.

WK: In part it's because they don't want to draw attention away from what's still happening in the ring. Usually, when there's a run-in, the cameras are focused on the reaction of the wrestlers in the ring. If the heels left up the ramp, it would be drawing attention away from what's going on in the ring. Also, by walking by the side of the ramp, it reinforces the impression that they "weren't supposed" to run-in; the rampway kind of has an "official" feel to it. When wrestlers actually leave through the crowd, as occurs with the SEX group on TNA PPVs each Wednesday, it's to reenforce that they're not part of the main roster and instead have a locker room of their own.

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